For Sam Barrington, a rough World Cup opener

Green Bay --- The entire sports world did not rejoice as one after the United States' thrilling 2-1 win over Ghana on Wednesday.

Here in Green Bay, Packers linebacker Sam Barrington was pulling for Ghana. For good reason, too.

His father is from Ghana and he's been visiting the country every year since he was 15 years old.

“I was on edge the whole game," Barrington said on Wednesday.

World Cup games don't get much better than Team USA's win in the opener. If you've lived under the rock this week, John Brooksscored the late game-winner to lift the red, white and blue.

From his point of view, Barrington thought Clint Dempsey scoring seconds into the game was the key. It forced Ghana to change its style up.

“That goal in the beginning, that happened too fast," Barrington said. "That changed the demographic of the whole game. You’re playing a different type of game now. You’re not playing a methodical, progressive game. Now you’re playing a ‘Oh, we’ve got to score!’ game.”

As he said, he's not rooting for Ghana "for no odd reason." He has roots in the country. And five of those eight years he has visited Ghana, Barrington has actually gone twice.

"It’s not like I say, ‘Oh, I’m not American,’" Barrington said. "That’s not the case. I just wanted to do something fun and just root for Ghana and see how that would go because in America we’re so dominant in football. There’s no other country that would touch us. We dominate in basketball with the Olympics every year, with Team USA. Track and field, we’re whupping butt in that except the Jamacains. They’ve got the sprinters but overall we’re the better team. So it’s fun to see another country, especially if I have relations with that country. It’s cool to root for them and see how good they’ll do.”

IfGhana is eliminated, OK, Barrington will root for the US.

Still, this loss was tough to swallow.

“Should they have won? In my eyes, I’m saying the Heat should have won. That was ugly in itself," said Barrington, who grew up in Jacksonville, Fla.. "But if they continue to play like that, they’ll have a great run this year. If you take that many shots, you’re bound to hit two or three of them. They’ll be OK."

About Tyler Dunne

Tyler Dunne covers the Green Bay Packers. He has been on the beat since 2011, winning awards with the Pro Football Writers of America and Milwaukee Press Club.